


Paduka

by AllegoriesInMediasRes



Series: Jodhaa Akbar canon fics [16]
Category: Jodhaa-Akbar (2008)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Early Relationship, F/M, Humor, Missing Scene, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 01:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16566806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllegoriesInMediasRes/pseuds/AllegoriesInMediasRes
Summary: Because Jalal took off his shoes before witnessing Jodhaa’s devotions for the first time, and never put them back on afterwards, and of course I had to write something to address this glaring plot hole! Oneshot.





	Paduka

**Author's Note:**

> Set right after Man Mohana. Accompanying edit on Tumblr [here.](https://allegoriesinmediasres.tumblr.com/post/179922451941/he-forgot-his-shoes-you-guys-he-was-so)

Jodhaa is angry after her morning _puja_ is complete.

Angry, that she is married to a man who has to be guided through applying _sindoor_. Angry, that her one sacred place has been intruded upon, that he has seen her _unveiled_ when she does not even allow him inside their -- her -- bed yet. Angry, that even after doing _puja_ , anger still bubbles under her skin.

She strides out, about to jam her slippers back on when --

There is a pair of shoes next to hers that wasn’t there before.

_Oh._

_He remembered to take off his shoes before entering._

And apparently left them behind.

She looks at her slippers, next to his slightly larger gold-plated ones, studded with rubies. She remembers suddenly how her parents’ footwear would look, her mother’s silk next to her father’s gold, outside their private prayer room. So many times she would be scampering down the hall, fresh from a sparring match with Sujamal or painting with Neelakshi, and then her pace would slow to a tiptoe, as she saw their discarded footwear. She would duck behind the curtains and see them knelt together, side-by-side, sharing reverence.

Should she summon a servant? Return them herself? Leave them there until he comes to collect them?

What is the protocol? She was raised to be a Rajput Queen, not a Mughal Empress, and she had no time to reeducate herself in the short time she had before she was expected to walk into the maws of Agra.

She sets down her prayer tray and picks them up carefully. They are still warm from the heat of his feet.

A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, and for the second time in as many minutes, her husband manages to startle her. He truly is quiet without shoes on. She ought to be annoyed that he keeps disarming her so -- that in the sanctuary she fought for, she cannot find peace.

But the expression on his face is confused, almost dreamily so, so much that it is hard to be angry with him, especially when all he had done was come back for his shoes.

Then why does she feel so very awkward, like Bharat standing before Lord Ram, _paduka_ in hand?

Has she been presumptuous in picking them up herself? Has she crossed some line? She is wise to be afraid. She is still keenly aware of the power he wields over her, despite the many concessions he has granted.

But she does not feel afraid: merely very, very confused. And glad, inexplicably, that he is here, back in her rooms, that he sought her out --

Oh, what is this? She had prayed to the Lord for guidance in this new world, and He has yet to deliver. She is confused, confused, confused, and no closer to answers than when she woke up this morning.

Jodhaa deposits his shoes back on the ground in front of him, as quickly as politeness allows, then flees before he can put them back on.

It’s not until she’s back in her rooms that she realized she left _her_ slippers behind.

**Author's Note:**

> Bharat carrying his elder brother Rama’s slippers ( _paduka_ in Sanskrit, which is where the title comes from) is a pivotal image from the Ramayana.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Imaan aur Ibaadat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18437660) by [Golden_Daughter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Daughter/pseuds/Golden_Daughter)




End file.
